GanymedeRex

This was a satisfying and profound story - "It's Not Easy Being a Tree" represents the very best of GA content. What a well written portrayal of the dangers of online sex for a youth - the story had so much excitement, tension & fear and ultimately took us to that scary place we suspected it was heading towards from the beginning. The journey had many twists and was a worthwhile tale on many levels. To me, this is one of the most socially relevant and meaningful stories on GA. It shows @Ronyx at the peak of writing talent as an author. As a pediatrician who handled many abuse cases (and was on a special review board for them), I was utterly amazed at how aggressive and impervious any moral boundary the worst sexual predators can be. Mr. Dewberrys don't come along that often, but I would say that @Ronyx did in fact portray him quite realistically. I've also seen teen (and child) lives ruined by the public fallout from sex assault cases, with permanent changes to family dynamics as well. On the other hand, I've also seen young partners where the older boy gets unjustly portrayed as a predator and enjoys their own personal destruction at the hands of the full weight of the legal system (like Connor could have been). I wish something like this story could be published by Scholastic Press and distributed at school libraries. God knows it would do some good.

This was a satisfying and profound ending. What a well written portrayal of the dangers of online sex for a youth - the story had so much excitement, tension & fear and ultimately took us to that scary place we knew it was heading towards from the beginning. To me, this is one of the most socially relevant and meaningful stories on GA. It shows @Ronyx at the peak of writing talent as an author. As a pediatrician who handled many abuse cases (and was on a special review board for them), I was utterly amazed at how aggressive and impervious any moral boundary the worst sexual predators can be. Mr. Dewberrys don't come along that often, but I would say that @Ronyx did in fact portray him quite realistically. I've also seen teen (and child) lives ruined by the public fallout from sex assault cases, with permanent changes to family dynamics as well. On the other hand, I've also seen young partners where the older boy gets unjustly portrayed as a predator and enjoys their own personal destruction at the hands of the full weight of the legal system (like Connor could have been). Last year, I found out that my 14yo son had been going naked online with men on Omegle. He now uses an old-fashioned flip phone and the computer is restricted to a visible spot on the main floor. We've always supported him in his sexuality though he still sometimes thinks 'we don't understand' (he knows nothing of his Dad's sex history! hehehe). I don't know if I'll ever tell him, but I do think I'll have him read this story. It has some good JO material, is a great story with compelling characters and has a fantastic moral lesson. BRAVO @Ronyx

What an awful day. Glad it's over

You are right about that - Quoka kind of had foreshadowing that this family was going to be toast anyway; they didn't seem to be doing the right things needed to survive like the two brothers were. I'm sure the neighbor boys and their property will factor in somehow, thought they are way too young and different in age to be romantic interests. Somebody else will have to show up.

Child mortality was very high until well into the 20th Century. Smallpox or something else? Frontier life was pretty rough. Very well written.

This has been so impactful. what suspense. Thus us Ronyx at his best. I read the whole story on the mustard jar and its still so powerful the second time. Poor Lucas.

I love how you think, @droughtquake

that's a wonderful story. It had an exciting flow to it and lots of anticipation.

really cool. there's more right?

So far, this story has been fascinating - all about how the two brothers are building up something from very basic materials and things they find. They are very brave. It will be interesting to see how the story develops....

I don't blame Gene. Some of us, like Joey, were taunted, hunted and beaten for years - not to mention the father situation. He's 4 months away from graduation - he can be more open about himself once he goes away to college on his asshole dad's money.

its okay to not be okay. I pray for you. you are worth it.

I remember this guy with HIV I was friendly with at my coffeeshop/winebar hangout back in the early 2000's. He was depressed over having HIV and wanted to stop treatments. I met with him every week and discussed HIV meds in detail and promised him better meds were on the way but that he had to keep his viral load, because the replicating virus eventually burns out the immune system. Not too many years after, we have the protease inhibitors which are really powerful and have far fewer side effects. As a children's doctor, I've saved many lives but value what happened with 30 year old antique dealer as a pleasant memory and his accomplishment. (He once asked and I lied & said I was straight, instead of Bi). Thanks for writing Allen in this story.

The story is moving along nicely. I liked the relationship with Tommo and the realization of being a 'homo' part. If I can offer a critique as a medical doctor - nobody goes into a coma because they are upset, not do they end up in ICUs because of it either. I'm not sure there were ICUs in the 1950s like there are today. but there certainly were no vital signs monitors or things that would require wires hooked up to a person. There were early EKGs but that was a one time test, and there were things like iron lungs in the 1950s, but being in a hospital then was much different than now. Also, ambulances mostly transported people then, they did not have the emergency skills like they do now - that developed from Army medic experiences in viet nam and developed over the 1970s. I think the story as it is now is fine as far as the ambulance part.

its been very exciting.

This is a fantastic chapter. I really feel a connection to the characters and even though updates aren't that frequent, I find that I don't need to reread prior chapters to refresh my memory about the characters - they just come right back. This is excellent writing. Also, I worked long ago in a unit similar to this one and it seems the author has some knowledge of these kinds of facilities.

Very interesting - nicely written introduction. Looking forward to reading more.

Bravo. This was a wonderful series of stories which I'll always fondly remember. Great job and fantastic ending.

I think kids like Dylan & Jesse should stay kids and be around their family at that age. I went to an east coast private school and most of my classmates left for boarding school in 9th grade. It was a way of life for some that I never understood.

You did an awesome job explaining the process around bone marrow transplants. I mean, really good We can now collect the cells without having to directly harvest from the marrow of the pelvis but the way you describe is still done. Nice job!

yay for dick tag! About time those boys had a little harmless group fun.

You are correct but we always treat for bacterial meningitis until we are dead certain. You are right that the recovery time and symptoms described in the story aren't typical. Usually he'd be all better in a week - the bacterial meningitis patients don't recover as quickly but that's mostly due to the severity and due to other complications. Someone with meningitis is really suffering a lot and they wouldn't be having a conversation like the one between Dylan and Jesse at that point. Now, a good case of bacterial pneumonia can be life threatening and that DOES make you dead tired for more than a month afterwards. Mono can be pretty bad as well. I've actually thought about doing a 'medical editor' thing for authors writing stories to give feedback on making their illnesses realistic. Although Andrew isn't perfect, I think he's done a pretty darned good job describing medical conditions and integrating them into his story.

The doctor was right to be worried about the HIV and retest - it would change the whole clinical picture. He probably didn't need to obsess, just test for it.

Great Chapter!!! Very excited to see TJ in the mix and am curious how it will unfold. Too bad for Dylan - us Doctors worry about Leukemia & Meningitis with a presentation like that, but the vast majority of the time its the flu or maybe something like pneumonia. Meningitis/encephalitis is most likely to kill him immediately - with leukemia he'll probably survive initially and spend a lot of time going to hospitals...

It got big and maybe a bit complicated, but the infusion of a growing cast of characters kept things fresh. Another great tale. Thanks!